Mumbai (Maharashtra)

 Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde following the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election results, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would never have gained a foothold in the city's civic body had Shinde not "betrayed" the party, asserting that the Marathi people would remember Shinde as "Jaichand."

In a post on X, Raut invoked the historical reference of Jaichand, a Rajput ruler from the powerful Gahadavala dynasty, remembered in popular folklore for siding with Muhammad Ghori against Prithviraj Chauhan, to accuse Shinde of betrayal.

"If Eknath Shinde had not become the Jaichand of Shiv Sena, the BJP would never have got a Mayor in Mumbai! The Marathi people will remember Shinde as Jaichand," Raut wrote.

Elaborating, Raut accused the BJP of engineering splits within opposition parties to consolidate power across states.

"BJP wins by creating 'Jaichands'. Otherwise, what is the BJP's strength? In every state, in every city, they break up every party and create 'Jaichand' to win elections," he said.

Raut further questioned the political standing of the Deputy Chief Minister, saying, "They are equal to zero. What is the Deputy Chief Minister's strength? As long as they are in power, people will salute them; otherwise, people will throw shoes at their cars."

Commenting on the BMC results, Raut said the Chief Minister has unlimited powers, including access to police, money, and administrative resources and claimed that any Chief Minister with such powers would have delivered similar results.

"As Chief Minister, he has unlimited power; he has the police, he has many other people and resources at his disposal, he has money, he has everything. Even if it were another Chief Minister, the results would have been the same. The biggest battle was in Mumbai. We shouldn't assume that the BJP won in Mumbai. It is balanced. The MNS got fewer seats; they should have gotten around 15, that's what I think. We lost 10 to 15 seats by a very small margin. But in the BMC, the opposition's strength is equal to that of the ruling party," he said.

Highlighting the Opposition's strength inside the civic body, Raut asserted that Shiv Sena (UBT) and its allies would act as a strong check on the ruling alliance. "We have 105 people inside the BMC. They cannot sell Mumbai. We are sitting there. Even if we lose our lives, we will end the rule of these contractors," Raut added.

Meanwhile, the BMC elections saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) alliance emerge as the single largest bloc, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance also secured a significant share of seats and votes across Mumbai.

According to official figures released by the Election Commission and the BMC, the BJP won 89 seats. Its alliance partner, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), secured 29 seats. Together, the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance emerged as the largest bloc in the BMC.

ALSO READ: The scope of RSS and Muslim dialogue is expanding

On the other hand, the Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting in alliance with the MNS, won 65 seats.

The Indian National Congress (INC) secured 24 seats. Among other parties, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won eight seats, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured three seats, the Samajwadi Party won two seats, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won one seat.